With falling renewable energy prices worldwide, as seen from domestic rates of Rs 2.44 and Rs 3.46 per unit revealed through auctions for solar and wind, respectively, a leading nuclear operator has said that atomic power still remains a cheaper clean energy option given the additional costs involved in making renewables grid-compatible.

“Let’s be very careful with these figures, because it’s true only partly. If you combine all elements needed to establish connection with a grid in case of renewable resources of energy, you need to pay additionally for some back up facilities,” Russian state-run atomic energy corporation Rosatom’s First Deputy CEO Kirill Komarov told Sky News channel of UK.

“In the end you will see that nuclear is still at least twice as cheaper than wind and minimum thrice as cheaper than solar,” he said.

Rosatom are the equipment suppliers and builders of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project in Tamil Nadu.

Confirming that Rosatom has also begun investing in wind technology, Komarov said he was, therefore, qualified to assert that nuclear power provides a cheaper alternative.

“I see that investments in nuclear are paying more dividends because it is still cheaper,” he said.

“What you have today is a level of modern nuclear technology. It is safe, reliable and can work minimum of 60 years from the date of commissioning. It can be a very significant part of the energy balance of every country, especially if we take into account that the goals of cutting down on carbon emissions cannot be achieved without nuclear,” he added.

In response to a query about Rosatom’s $133 billion order book over the next decades from outside of Russia, Komarov said their success is mainly due to the company’s competence across the entire nuclear value chain.

“Our main advantage is that we cover the whole line of nuclear industry. It means we have everything at our disposal in one company starting from mining of uranium and up to decommissioning of a nuclear power plant… we have all the resources with us,” he said.